Municipal politicians say the province has ruled out upgrades to the Island's E&N Rail line without considering demand for a commuter rail system linking Victoria to the West Shore.

The Ministry of Transportation released a study yesterday that concluded not enough people use the E&N rail line, or live near it, to justify spending millions of dollars on a commuter rail service for the Island.

"I think it's unfortunate [the ministry] looks at the whole line, rather than starting in Langford and going to Victoria," said Langford councillor Denise Blackwell. "I don't think the province has taken into account the number of people who live in the West Shore and go to work in Esquimalt" -- particularly those who commute to CFB Esquimalt.  read more »

B.C. Supreme Court has approved the City of Victoria's bid to buy two budget hotels it wants to turn into affordable housing for some of Victoria's most vulnerable people.

The city's accepted offer for two Traveller's Inn motels, one on Gorge Road and the other on Queens Avenue, was $5.6 million including outstanding taxes.

The city offered $5.2 million for the two motels, which were listed by DTZ Barnicke for a combined $6.7 million.

"This is a great day," said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin. "This is a rare opportunity to add a significant number of rental units to the affordable and supportive housing supply, and is a big step forward in our efforts to end homelessness in our region."  read more »

As the city waits for two social housing projects to open their doors in November, new funding will provide temporary shelter in the meantime.

The B.C. government has committed $257,600 to run 85 shelter spaces from now until Oct. 31.

“Even though we accelerate things, we sometimes find gaps and our job is to fill those gaps while we try to get to the next stage,” said Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman.

The announcement came on the same day the Coalition to End Homelessness released new figures that show shelter use is on the rise.  read more »

BC Government News Release - The Province is investing $4 million to expand Swift House and $257,600 to provide additional emergency shelter spaces for the City of Victoria over the next four months, Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman announced today.

“Our government is working with municipal and community partners to support economic growth and create innovative housing options,” said Coleman. “We are delivering on our commitment to the City of Victoria to provide three new supportive housing developments valued at more than $28 million so that people at risk of homelessness can forge a path towards a healthy, independent future.”  read more »

A clear choice will have to be made, doing nothing is not an option

In less than two months, Victoria city council will decide whether to replace or rehabilitate the Johnson Street Bridge. That decision will determine how much money will need to be borrowed, and shape the question on the ballot for the November referendum.

Two things are clear. No matter which choice is made, it will cost many millions of dollars. And doing nothing is not an option, because the engineers who have been part of this project say that we risk having to close the bridge completely.  read more »